Some folks have asked me why I call my business Kyote Graphics. The simple answer is that I live in an area where there are a lot of coyotes. The name is a deliberate misspelling of "Coyote" using the letter "K", the first initial of my name. I tried spelling it Koyote, but it looks funny, and makes me think of "Toyota".
Here's a slightly more complicated explaination: Coyote is a trickster god in the Native American tradition. I name what I do in honor of this aspect of this animal. I want both the doing and the recieving of my work to embody the creative spirit of Coyote.
I think creativity is about seeing the world in a new way and the function of art is to share that insight with others, sometimes using the power of illusion to "trick" the eye, the ear, the soul into deeply and clearly observing the essence of this world.
I talked about music and how it alters my moods. It "tricks" me into a better place. Nothing has changed, but the drumbeat of my life shifts when I add a good song.
The visual arts "trick" me into feeling more alive and open to new ways of being. If a piece is really successful, it convinces me that the world is full of undreamed of possiblities.
A good movie, theater piece, or novel does the same thing; with the added dimension of allowing me to lose myself completely in another artist's vision.
Also, the making of art is a (mostly)joyful, heartfelt experience. When I'm in the groove, really creatively cooking, time has no meaning and all I want to do, all I can do, is make this new thing I've thought of that wants to pour out of me and onto the page. It's a fabulous feeling.
In short, good art transforms both the artist and the observer, and the best art moves me beyond the mundane business of living and into a more exhilerating and joyful way of being.
Finding Method in the Madness:
